I was grabbing a coffee with a friend the other day and in the coffee shop, we got into a conversation with a gentleman who started telling us about his food truck. He was going on about how they originally took a $50k loan to get the business going, and how he was spending 16 hours a day on the business. I was supportive and respectful, but not how I look to go about my businesses. 16 hours a day at the beginning, maybe 1 hour a day once it’s launched.

Brick and mortar businesses are going out of style. Brick and mortar businesses are expensive as well ($50k for a food truck with no guarantee of success!!) If you want to make it big, you have to leverage your network and the reach of the internet.

I’ll give you a few business ideas that cost less than $200 to start. Most are built around creating content and building an audience. Content creation is a great way to start a business. Essentially, build an audience, then monetize. I will also list a few others.

Blog (less than $50 for domain name and 12 months of hosting fees)

Start writing unique content on a specific niche and you will build an audience. Over time, you can add ads, affiliate links, products, coaching courses, etc. to your blog. Since you already have an audience, they will be open to buying.

Social Media Sites: Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook (free)

Why not utilize a platform that already has millions of users? You can create an account on any of these platforms and start building a business this way.

I watch a lot of YouTube videos and it’s crazy how people can make a living off creating videos.

One downside of these platforms is if they change their algorithm or pay-out structure, then you may lose out on views, ad revenue, etc.

Consulting or Coaching (Free, but will take time to build a client book and reputation)

Are you an expert in a certain field? You can contract for and consult clients for a solid hourly wage. It’s a fun job and if you can communicate well, it would be a solid role for you.

Digital Product Creation (think e-book or how-to-guide, Free)

Creating a e-book on an area you are passionate about and sell it for a few bucks. The only time you spend is upfront, after that, it’s passive income.

It’s a great strategy these days to leverage the internet’s wide reach. There is so much money in the world right now… we just need to go and get it.